In 2022, Rion officially opened its fifth production hall, and if at the start of the year we were excited by the hall’s size and production potential, by the end of it we are proud of its achievements. We’ve successfully put into operation several machines from reputable manufacturers worldwide, with the highlight being the integration of two multi-component machines, which have added further complexity and capabilities to the products we are able to produce.
Let’s review some significant milestones that were achieved throughout 2022.
Rion supports the innovation of start-up companies and their transition from development to mass-production
Working with a client over a long period of time has many benefits. In cases like that, we become very familiar with the product, and we understand his needs deeply. In fact, many of our clients have been with us for years, and both sides are very happy with this arrangement. While that in mind, we also enjoy working on new and innovative ideas, which are often found in start-up companies. Their projects require creativity, fast-paced work and innovation to succeed.
Last year, we were honored to be a part of NDrip’s journey, from being a start-up developing revolutionary drippers, to becoming a fully established company with a mature product ready for industrial production and a burgeoning demand for their product.
By combining our expertise in manufacturing processes with NDrip’s revolutionary ideas, we were able to seamlessly integrate their unique product into the world of plastic injection molding. The changes we implemented resulted in a shorter production cycle and an increase in yield, without compromising the functionality of the product.
Photo 1: From right to left: Aharon Weiss, director of engineering at Rion, Ronen Rave, director of the mold department at Rion, and Dodo Leib, CEO of Rion, in an experimental agricultural field irrigated with the innovative NDrip dripper.
Investing in digitalization and moving to advanced production
The world is evolving, with Industry 4.0 well underway, and talk of a fifth industrial revolution centered on advanced artificial intelligence. In 2022, we were proud to embrace new technologies in our work, which enabled us to digitalize processes in our Molds Department, resulting in improved quality and more efficient operations. The department has upgraded to use tablets that are seamlessly integrated with our factory system, providing instant access to all information related to the mold and its history. Service calls are now handled efficiently, with technical information and solutions readily available on screen, and the ability to easily attach images of the issue at hand to the service request.
This upgrade is set to be implemented in other departments throughout the factory in 2023.
Figure 2: On the right – Real-time data input and retrieval during ongoing production. On the left – Attaching a video or image to a service call.
Qualisense – the implementation of advanced software tools for quality control
Another significant change that occurred in 2022 was the increased use of Qualisense, an advanced software tool for quality control. by Amos Shavit, a highly accomplished engineer who worked at Plastokit for many years, it allows us to maintain excellent production quality and optimize efficiency. In addition to the software, we also introduced two new CMM machines in Rion and Plastokit.
The gains from the quality improvements are significant, not only for us at Rion but also for our customers who benefit from the increased efficiency. These include reduction in cycle time, seamless integration of alternative materials, and focused quality testing on critical production parameters. The complexity of the products and the ability to work with high-performance polymers require the integration of intelligent software tools in our workflow, and we intend to continue this trend in 2023.
We continue to operate seamlessly, even during global disruptions – The Supply Chain Department
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in recent years, it is the importance of maintaining strategic production security. This approach helped us in the past year, marked by high volatility in the availability and prices of plastic materials due to the war in Ukraine. Our gratitude goes to our Supply Chain Department, thanks to which we were able to ensure support for any customer need and maintain regular production, even in an unpredictable environment.
We are eagerly looking forward to 2023 and the developments it will bring to our company. We wish a successful and prosperous year for our employees, customers, and suppliers. A year of growth, innovation and creativity.
Picture 1: Supply Chain Department that includes production planning and control (PPC), procurement and warehouses
Picture 3: Supply Chain Department that includes production planning and control (PPC), procurement and warehouses.
